Faith
by Lelo07
Summary: Kensi and Deeks are finally moving forward in their new relationship, but some life changing events turn their lives upside down (AGAIN). Do they have what it takes to make it? Do they have Faith? Set after Black Wind but its a story line I've wanted to write for a while now.
1. Chapter 1

_Soooo… I know I should have continued Bold a while ago, but I want to make it as close to the storyline of the show as possible and they're not really giving me anything to work with, although, last week was better than the weeks before. This story has been floating around my head FOREVER. I decided it's finally time to write it down._

OPS

"Kens, you can't just throw all of these papers in the trash! We have these marvelous things called recycling bins, you know." Deeks said as he dramatically pulled all of her discarded papers out of her trash bin.

"Seriously? Yesterday it was the water and today it's paper?" Kensi asked, watching as her partner repeated the process on Sam and Callen's bins.

"Woah, what do you think you're doing?" Sam asked as he saw Deeks digging.

"Just saving a few dozen trees by the looks of it. You all really need to learn the values of recycling."

"Yeah, alright Mother Nature." Callen jabbed.

"Okay, alright, you know what, fine. Laugh all you want, but when the air pollution starts smothering us all, and we'll be some of the first to go, don't come crying to me." Deeks said as he tossed all the papers into the recycling bin.

"And why exactly would we be the first to go?" Sam asked as he took a seat, as did Callen.

"Because, according to the article I read in the LA Times this morning, Los Angeles has been named one of the worst cities in America for air quality."

Just as they were all about to jump into an argument about the topic, Eric blew his whistle. "Hetty called a few minutes ago and apologizes for the late notice, but unless there is an emergency case, we all have today off."

They all looked at each other. They knew not to question Hetty's methods. Kensi and Deeks headed back out with Callen and Sam close behind.

"You two carpooled again?" Callen asks.

"Yep." Kensi replied, popping the 'p'.

"You guys feeling left out?" Deeks teased.

"No, no way. I don't want to know why you're at Kensi's place in the mornings." Sam said giving them a knowing look.

"What? Come on, we're just carpooling, ya know, saving the environment by not using as much…" He was cut off by a simultaneous groan from his teammates.

"Enough with the environmental crap!" Callen complained. "Plus, we all know that you're not surfing which implies that you haven't been near the beach, which is practically your backyard, in over a week. Kensi's house however, is nowhere near the ocean." Callen finished as they arrived at their cars. Kensi and Deeks glanced nervously at each other which caused Callen and Sam to laugh.

"See you guys on Monday." Sam said as he and his partner climbed into their cars.

"Yeah, uh, see you later." Deeks managed to stammer out.

Kensi handed Deeks the keys to her car and walked around to the passenger side door. She'd been letting him drive more and more lately.

They settled into the car and pulled away from the parking area. "So how much do you think they know?" Kensi asked as they drove towards his house.

"More than I'd like." Deeks said. They had agreed to keep it between the two of them for as long as possible so that the argument that they wouldn't be able to work together as partners, which they knew one of their superiors would bring up, would be invalid.

"I think they're just guessing, trying to get a reaction. There's no way they actually know. They would have said something by now." Kensi said, trying to convince herself as much as her partner.

"Yeah. Right." Deeks replied. The rest of the drive was spent in silence, but Deeks did eventually reach over and grab Kensi's hand.

They decided to spend the day relaxing at his place, since Callen and Sam had been right in guessing that they hadn't been here in a week. Deeks needed to repack a bag and wash clothes, since he wasn't completely sure he'd ever find them again if they entered the black hole that was Kensi's laundry room.

They lounged around, laughed and simply enjoyed spending time together. As the night came to a close, Deeks took Kensi out to eat at a small casual diner just down the street. Anyone looking could tell that they were in love.

"Alright, Princess, I think you're going to have to finish this movie on your own. I'm going to turn in early, the waves are supposed to be awesome in the morning." Deeks said around ten that night. "Unless you want to join me?"

"In bed or to the beach?" Kensi asked with a smirk in place.

Deeks chuckled at her joke, noting how her sense of humor was improving. "Either really, although at the moment I'm referring to the beach. We haven't surfed together in ages." Deeks replied.

Kensi thought about it for a minute before deciding "You know what, why not? I kind of have been wanting to go out again." Kensi said as she turned off the TV and took his offered hand to help her up off the couch.

They changed and climbed into his bed, her head immediately coming to rest on his chest as she curled herself into his side. 


	2. Chapter 2

The morning came far too quickly for either of them. "come on Kensalina, time to get up."

"Mmmmmph" She grumbled, snuggling further into the crook of his neck. If there was one thing he had learned since the start of their relationship, it was that Kensi was NOT a morning person. She HATED being woken up, especially if it was before seven, and it was currently around five thirty.

"Come on, Princess," Deeks started, rubbing her back and pushing her hair out of her face. "It will be worth it. We'll have the beach practically to ourselves this morning."

Her beautiful eyes finally fluttered open and met his. "That's because it's not morning yet." She grumbled. He was reminded of the morning he woke up snuggling with her rear end on the couch and couldn't help but smile.

"I'll buy us breakfast after, come on now." He said as he started pulling the covers down and sitting up.

Half an hour later, he was able to coax her out of bed and into a swimsuit with the promise of coffee to drink on the road. He handed her a cup as they walked out the door and they were on their way.

Usually Deeks would simply walk down to the beach below his apartment, but since the waves there were a little rougher and Kensi was just learning, they usually went a little further south on the beach. Kensi also needed to rent a board and wetsuit, so they pulled into a parking lot near a rental station.

As soon as they pulled in, they knew something was wrong. There was police tape around the rental shack and law enforcement everywhere.

Kensi and Deeks exited the car and approached an officer. Deeks had worked with Officer Brady a while and he was one of the few cops that actually liked working with Deeks. "What's going on?" Deeks asked.

"Looks like the shop owner was shot and killed along with a customer this morning. We're not sure why, but it wasn't a robbery."

"Do you have an ID?" Kensi asked, hoping it wasn't the owner, Kimberly, who was a sweet woman in her mid fifties.

"Not yet, but you're welcome to take a look around. I'm assuming you're not on duty?" Officer Brady stated.

"Nah, we have the weekend off, but we've come down here a few times. We were just going to go out and surf for a while." Deeks informed him.

"I'm going to go call in to headquarters to update them. Let me know if you two catch anything, a lot of our weekend crew are newbies."

Kensi and Deeks headed into the crime scene, slipping on gloves that were handed to them. Inside the little shop, there were two bodies and a lot of blood. One was a young man, probably in his late teens or early twenties and another man in his thirties.

While momentarily relieved that neither of them was Kimberly, Kensi couldn't help but feel slightly sick at the scene. It looked as if it was a random shooting. No money was taken. Somebody seemed to just want one or both of these men dead.

"Doesn't look like there's much in the way of evidence." Deeks noted.

"This is going to kill Kimberly, knowing this happened in her shop." Kensi said as they walked back out onto the sand. They removed their gloves and just as they were getting ready to head back to the cars, Kensi grabbed Deeks' arm.

He turned around to look at her and noticed she was looking at a girl sitting about 25 yards outside the crime scene simply staring off into the ocean.

"Witness?" Kensi asked.

"Possibly." He replied as they ducked under the police tape.

They approached the girl, who looked up as they came closer. She had long wavy/curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She appeared to be in her teens. They could see she had been crying.

Kensi crouched down in the sand next to her. "Hi, my name is Kensi Blye, I'm an NCIS agent. Do you know anything about the shooting that happened this morning?"

The girl nodded. "My friend, Matty, he… um we…..went…went in to get a board for me." She started crying again. "I… I was just changing in the bathroom and then I heard the gun shots….." She started sobbing and Kensi reached out to comfort the girl. "I was so scared! They left and when I came out of the bathroom I saw…." She couldn't continue anymore and broke down. Kensi pulled the young girl in for a hug and she clung to her like she was a lifeline.

Kensi looked up at her partner who looked angry. She knew he had a soft spot for kids and the fact that these two innocent lives had been ruined, one by death and the other by loss, was probably killing him.

"Shh, it's okay, we're going to find whoever did this." Kensi tried to sooth the girl.

Eventually the girl's sobbing slowed to occasional hiccups. "Did you say you were NCIS?" The girl eventually asked.

"Yes, well, I am. My partner, he's a liason between LAPD and NCIS." Kensi explained. The girl turned around, fully looking at Deeks for the first time.

Her eyes went huge the moment she saw him, which only served to confuse both of the adults.

"I'm Marty Deeks." He said as he joined the two girls down on the sand. The girl continued to stare at him, seemingly in shock.

"I…I… Um my name is Faith… Faith Brandel, and I'm your sister."

_Continue?_


	3. Chapter 3

"_I…I… Um my name is Faith… Faith Brandel, and I'm your sister."_

Deeks practically recoiled and stood, giving the girl a skeptical look. "No. I don't have a sister. I'm an only child." Deeks said.

Kensi was at a loss for what to do. She stood and offered a hand to Faith. Looking at her now, she could see the resemblance. The beautiful eyes she'd fallen in love with, the messy blonde hair. She could easily see this girl as his sister, but now she was in a delicate situation. She wanted to support her partner, who was possibly going to be going through a life changing moment or to stay with the girl who had already had what was probably the worst day in her life.

Kensi stood, glancing back and forth between the two of them. Eventually Faith realized she'd have to explain herself more clearly.

"Our… Our… _Dad_, he got out of jail a few years earlier for 'good behavior' and he made Mom let him back into her life. He tried to find you too, but you'd already changed your name and Mom refused to tell him where you were." She watched as the skepticism in his eyes changed to curiosity and surprise.

"About a year after he was released, Mom found out she was pregnant with me." Faith replied. She saw as something clicked for him.

"Wait, were you born in 1998?" He asked.

"Yes. On November 12th."

Deeks took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. Kensi tilted her head as if to ask what he was thinking.

"I had semi regular contact with my…well, I guess _our_, Mom up until 1997. She mentioned something about a man in her life and then seemed to disappear. I figured she'd found a new man and was trying to start over. I couldn't really hold anything against her, since I'd done almost the exact same thing." He paused and looked at Faith for a moment, as if he was seeing her for the first time. "You look a lot like her, I can see that now."

Finally Kensi had to ask something, because evidently her partner wasn't picking up on a very important detail. "Why did your Mom not want him to know about you?"

Faith gave the adults a sad smile. "He got out. Nobody in their right mind would want to drag their child back to that neighborhood if they'd actually managed to escape." She said. Deeks' face immediately softened and he looked almost guilty. "Mom knew the moment she told you about the fact that Dad came back or that she had me, then you'd be back. She didn't want you to feel obligated to return to Reseda."

"But she told you about me?" He asked.

At this Faith broke out into the first smile she'd shown since they'd met. At this Kensi could _clearly_ see the sibling resemblance. They had the _exact_ same smile.

"Yeah. She told me all about you. How you saved her life when Dad tried to kill you both, and how you'd been so successful and made it into Law school and passed the bar exam. I loved those stories when I was little. They gave me hope that I could get out too. She used to take out old photo albums and show me pictures of you. The most recent she had was the photo you sent her when you graduated law school. " She said, then looked at him again. "You haven't changed much, you're hair's just a little... less styled."

At that Kensi burst out laughing and Deeks joined in before growing serious again.  
He couldn't even think of anything to say. He simply said "come here" and held out his arms. Faith went easily into them. Kensi met Deeks eyes over Faith's shoulder and saw a single tear make its way down his face.

She could relate to how he felt. She too had been on her own without family, and when her mother came back into her life, she was an emotional wreck. It was such a reassuring feeling to have people in your life that loved you no matter what you did.

After a few minutes the two broke apart and Deeks brought his hand up to her face. "I can't believe I never knew about you." He whispered, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"I'm sorry to ruin this moment, but Officer Brady is headed this way." Kensi said.

"What can we do for you?" Deeks asked as he stepped towards the officer.

"I was just wondering if you had found anything." Brady asked.

"We did find a witness, this is Faith Brandel, she was in the shop's restroom when the shooting happened." Deeks explained.

"Well, normally I'd ask her to come with me, but this is actually getting handed over to NCIS. The IDs came back on the victims and the one was a Navy Seal in training. Your team should be here soon." Officer Brady said as he handed over the evidence transferal paperwork so that Kensi could sign it.

"Good luck, I hope you get this basturd." Brady said, shaking his head.

"Faith, we're going to have to keep you with us for a while. Do you want to call Mom and let her know what's going on? Legally, you should wait for a lawyer, guardian or child representative since you are under age." Deeks said.

"Aren't you a lawyer?" She asked rhetorically.

"Ah, yes, but… don't you think she'd want to know what's going on?"

"She's at work and I don't want to worry her. I'll call her later." Faith decided. Deeks reluctantly agreed just as Sam and Callen pulled up.

They had some explaining to do. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming!**

Kensi, Deeks, and Faith made their way over toward the parking lot near the shack where Callen and Sam were speaking to some of the officers on duty at the crime scene.

Kensi noticed Faith grow tense as they neared the shop. She put an arm around the girl's shoulders and Faith gave her a sad but appreciative grin. Kensi had dealt with death enough in her life to know that simply having contact with another human being could keep you sane in the worst of situations.

Deeks saw Kensi put her arm around Faith's shoulders as a way of showing support. It warmed his heart to see the two women he loved more than life itself already bonding with each other. Sure, he'd only known Faith for about ten minutes, but there was a sibling bond and love that he felt immediately. It probably had something to do with the fact that she looked so much like their mother who he'd had a special bond with since he was a child.

"Deeks" Sam said in greeting.

"Sam, Callen." He said as they approached the men.

"Who is this?" Callen asked, nodding towards Faith.

"This is Faith. She's the only witness we've been able to find. Kensi and I are going to take her back to the boatshed." Deeks informed them, not wanting to divulge that he knew that Faith was his sister quite yet. Kensi and Faith seemed to catch on and didn't say anything either.

"Sounds good." Callen said then looked back and forth between Kensi and Deeks a few times. "So, what were you guys doing down here this early in the morning?" He asked, clearly noting that Kensi's hair was unbrushed and pulled into a messy bun and she had only a pair of swimming shorts and one of Deeks' sweatshirts pulled on over her bikini. Deeks was in a pair of swim shorts and a long sleeved rash guard.

"We _were_ going to go surfing, but when we showed up to rent a board and wetsuit for Kens, we found this." Deeks replied, taking on a defensive pose after he motioned towards the crime scene.

Sam and Callen shared a knowing smirk but didn't press the issue further. "Go on, get out of here. We'll take care of this." Sam said, still smiling.

Kensi and Deeks walked past with Faith and returned to Kensi's SRX. Kensi tossed Deeks the keys before heading to the passenger door. "So where are we going exactly?" Faith finally asked when they climbed into the car.

"We're heading back to the boatshed, its where NCIS's Office of Special Projects takes witness statements and preforms interrogations. Our headquarters is in a secret location, so we don't take outsiders there." Deeks explained as he started the car.

They pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the boatshed. Deeks was glad Kensi had let him drive because it allowed him to do something and stop his mind from reeling over todays events. He had a sister. He _HAS_ a _**SISTER.**_ This was completely insane. The only person in his life that he's ever had to consider family is his mother, whom he hasn't spoken to in about seventeen years. Seventeen. That's how old his sister is. Wow.

Kensi seemed to sense he was allowing his mind to wander. She reached over and grabbed his hand off the gearshift, which he'd unconsciously been holding in a death grip. She met his eyes and gave him a warm grin and tangled their fingers together. Deeks smiled back at her and squeezed her hand. He rephrased his previous thoughts to himself. The only _people_ he's ever considered family before today are his mother and Kensi. Although they were just starting out in their relationship, they'd already agreed that they're _all in_. They're in this for the long haul, and there's nothing he'd change about it.

They both turned their gaze to Faith, who was in the backseat. It seemed as if she was in another world, completely oblivious to what was going on in the car.

Kensi dropped Deeks hand and turned to look at Faith.

"Hey, Faith, how are you holding up." Kensi asked softly.

Faith turned her gaze to the front of the car. "I'm fine." She replied.

"A very wise man once told me that 'fine' really means you're not." She said casting a glance at Deeks who was fighting back a grin.

Faith replied after a few moments of silence. "I guess I'm just processing it all, you know? It doesn't seem real. This whole day has just been insane… like a nightmare, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Are you sure you don't want us to call your mom? I'm sure she'd want to be here for you." Kensi suggested again.

"She, uh, no I don't think that's a good idea." Faith said breaking eye contact and fiddling with her hair in a way that Kensi knew meant she didn't want to talk about it. She even had the same mannerisms as Deeks and it was slightly amusing for Kensi, but it wasn't the time to bring that up.

"Well, we're here." Deeks said as he got out of the car. Faith practically leaped out of the car and before Kensi knew it, Deeks was opening her door for her and holding out his hand. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but grin at the gesture. She secretly loved that he insisted on playing the 'gentleman' card, even at work where she insisted that he didn't need to.

They led Faith away from the edge of the dock where she'd gone to stand, looking out over the ocean. Kensi couldn't help but hang back a little as Deeks walked up to her and simply put a hand on her shoulder and stood with her staring out over the ocean.

Kensi pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the two of them just before they turned around to head inside.

They were about halfway through Faith giving her statement when Eric popped up on the tv screen.

"Hey guys, you may want to see this. This wasn't a random shooting. Faith and Matthew were targeted." He said as he pulled up the footage. There was video of a man clearly following the two teenagers to the beach. It seems like something spooked him, though and he ran back out of the shack talking on his cell phone and took cover and lost surveillance by weaving through the busy boardwalk shops.

"Why would he follow us?" Faith said, clearly alarmed.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. Right now our first priority is going to make sure Matthew's family and mom are safe." Deeks said as they headed back out of the boatshed.

"Wait!" Faith called as they were heading towards the door. "Mom, she uh, she passed away a few years ago." Faith told them.

Deeks froze, he was stunned, nobody had even informed him of his mother's death. "She, uh, she had Parkinson's disease. She died just before my eleventh birthday." Faith informed them. "Matty and his dad let me move in with them so I could stay in the same school. We tried to find you but the most information we were able to find was that you were doing something with LAPD." Faith looked down, afraid to meet her brother's gaze.

"Alright, then I guess we'll just call Callen and Sam to check up on Matty's father. What is his name?" Deeks asked, trying not to react too much to the new information. He needed to do his job right now.

"Ronald McRitzer, he should be home still, he wasn't going to go anywhere until later today."

"Okay, I'll call Sam and Callen." Kensi said stepping outside. She had a feeling that the siblings needed some time alone. 


	5. Chapter 5

Deeks was glad that Kensi had stepped outside for a moment. He really wanted to talk to Faith about their mother and even though he trusted her with everything, he wanted to know this information before it was shared with her.

"We really tried to find you, but.." Faith started, only to be cut off by Deeks.

"Hey, no, it's okay, I understand. I did a lot of undercover work at LAPD. Sometimes I was under for over a year. Even if you had contacted me, I wouldn't have been able to go and it probably would have distracted me from the mission I was on." He motioned to the couch and they sat down.

"She was really bad towards the end of it. The last year and a half were awful. She couldn't do anything for herself and she had to be restrained to a wheelchair so that she wouldn't hurt herself. She was still Mom, though. I could see it in her eyes. She was so scared, Marty. I never knew how to help her. " Faith started crying and Deeks pulled her into his chest and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"I wish I could have been there to help. I wish I could have known you growing up. I understand why Mom didn't want you contacting me, but I just wish I could have done something to help." He said holding her face gently, wiping away the few remaining tears.

"You did. You were the reason she kept living. She was so proud of you. Her entire face would light up when she told me stories of what you'd accomplished. She said you gave her faith that not everyone she loved was a bad person. That's how I got my name. She had faith in both of us, Marty. Right up until the day she died." She said, and at this, Deeks lost it. The two siblings clung to each other as they wept. Eventually pulling away, they shared identical smiles.

"So what's going on between you and Kensi? Is she your girlfriend?"

"It's, ah, it's…complicated. I'll explain later." He said as he saw Kensi walk back into the boatshed. He knew by the look on her face that something wasn't right.

"Callen and Sam just called. Ronald McRitzer had been shot, they're rushing him to the hospital now." She reported

A sob left Faith's mouth and Deeks pulled her into his chest for what felt like the hundredth time today. He felt the sobs shaking her small frame and couldn't help but wonder if she was ever going to catch a break.

Kensi came over and put an arm on each of their backs in support. "Faith, I'm sorry but we need to ask you some more questions. There might have been something that happened recently that would have caused someone to want to do this."

Faith nodded her head. After she had been questioned, the only new information that Kensi and Deeks had to report was that he was a former Navy Seal. They sent the information to Nell and Eric to see if they could find any connections to the worker at the surf shop that had also been a Seal.

Callen and Sam came back to the boatshed later that night. They shook their heads. He hadn't made it through surgery. Faith sadly nodded her head. She'd already accepted the fact that it had been too long and that he probably wasn't going to make it.

"Does she have anybody to go with her to a safe house?" Callen asked. Kensi gave Deeks a look and he realized he needed to explain the situation to their collegues.

"Uh, yeah, that would be me. But I think I'd feel safer with her at my house." At Callen and Sam's confused glances he explained further. "Her full name is Faith Brandel, and she's my sister." Callen and Sam looked shocked.

"You have a sister?!" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, yeah I do. I was just as shocked as you are about it though. She filled me in on that little detail at the beach this morning." He said smiling down at his sister who was standing next to him.

"Well, then, I guess that's settled. Is there any other family you need to contact? Your mom?" Callen asked, already knowing about the situation with his father.

"Ah, no, it's just the two of us left." Deeks said pulling Faith into his side.

"Okay then, but I would feel better if Kensi stayed with you guys too. Just to be safe." Callen said.

"Not that she wouldn't be there anyway..." Sam said just loud enough that he knew the pair heard him.

The senior agents noticed that the pair didn't deny their accusations and Kensi even appeared to have a slight blush. The trio quickly said goodnight and headed back to Deeks' apartment. 


	6. Chapter 6

Kensi already had a go bag packed with the essentials in her cars so they headed straight to Deeks' house, being careful to watch for any possible tails.

After taking a very long way home, Deeks quickly ushered Faith and Kensi into the house. They made sure the blinds were shut and then they started to get Faith settled in. Deeks took Monty outside for a quick walk.

"Here, why don't you take these and go take a quick shower. I'm sure it will help you relax after the day you've had. We'll order a pizza while you're in there. What do you like on yours?" Kensi asked, handing her a pair of soft blue pajama pants and a soft t shirt that she usually wore to bed.

"Pepperoni. Do you have other clothes to wear?" Faith asked. Kensi smiled at the girls concern for her, even when she'd just had a day from hell.

"Don't worry about me, I usually steal your brothers anyway." She said as she showed her to the bathroom.

Kensi waited until she heard the shower start before going back out to the living room and calling in the pizza order. Deeks walked in just as she was hanging up the phone. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips before heading towards the kitchen.

"How's she doing?" He asked.

"Pretty well, considering the circumstances. She's in the shower now. I gave her some clothes to change into when she gets out. We'll need to get her some of her own, though. The crime scene's going to be off limits for a while." Kensi said.

"We'll take care of that tomorrow. I called Hetty, we're on protection until they catch this guy. We don't have to go in to work tomorrow." He said as he searched through the fridge for a couple of beers.

They went over to the couch like they had for so many nights. Deeks sat down and Kensi curled up next to him, placing her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I still can't wrap my mind around everything. My whole life just changed, Kens." He said, tightening his grip on her. She placed a hand on his knee and squeezed in support.

"Everything's going to work out, Marty." Kensi reassured him.

"I'm going to have to move." He said. At this, Kensi tensed up and looked at him.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not going to let anyone else take care of my sister. She's staying with me whether she wants to or not, and I only have one bedroom." He explained.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead." Kensi replied, putting her head back down on his shoulder as they both slipped into their own thoughts until Kensi spoke up, startling Deeks. "My house has two bedrooms."

He pulled back and looked at her in shock for a moment. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I… I think so? We practically live together anyway." Kensi said

"Yeah, but this is a big step. Are you sure?" He asked.

She thought for a moment then met his gaze. "Absolutely. Sure, this may not be exactly how either of us thought it would happen, but I think we're ready." She said.

Deeks broke out into a huge grin and pulled her in for a kiss. "Kens, I really love you. You know that, right?" He asked placing his forehead against hers.

"I do, and I love you too." Kensi replied, kissing him on the nose before pulling back." The doorbell rang, disrupting their moment. Deeks got up and paid the deliveryman and set the pizza on the table. He looked around the apartment as he walked back towards Kensi.

"Uh, Kens?" He asked as he sat back down with her on the couch.

"Yeah?"

"What would you think of actually buying a house together? I know we're both in this for the long haul, and you know I want our family to grow eventually, and that would mean we'd have to move anyway. And, uh, yeah." Deeks asked, nervous of her reaction. It was one thing for her to invite them into her house, but to move away from her safe zone, her sanctuary, was another idea altogether.

He watched as she thought about it for a minute. He knew not to pressure her, since she was a logical person and she needed to think it all through first. Eventually she took a deep breath and nodded at him, grinning slightly.

"I guess it's a good idea, it doesn't make much sense to move all of your stuff to my place, and then move it all again when we decide to… uh, _grow."_ At this Deeks couldn't restrain himself any longer and pulled Kensi up off the couch and into his arms. He hugged her for a while before pulling back.

"Kens, you don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that." Deeks says.

"No, I don't, but I think I'm beginning to understand." Kensi replies honestly.

They lock eyes and simultaneously lean in. Their lips meet in a sweet but passionate kiss. Deeks moves one arm down to her waist, while the other cradles her cheek tenderly. Kensi's arms snake around his neck and tangle into his hair.

"Ahem" Faith's not-so-subtle interruption broke them out of their own little world.

They both pulled slightly away from each other, each with an arm still around the other's waist. They looked embarrassed which Faith found amusing.

"So I'm assuming you two are _together_." Faith said as she pointed between the two adults.

"Yeah, you could say that." Deeks said, smiling down at Kensi.

"I figured you were, but Marty wouldn't answer me earlier." Faith said, giving him a teasing glare.

"Yeah, well, at work we have to keep this a secret, or at least try to keep it out of the office. I'm pretty sure Sam and Callen already figured it out, but as long as we don't confirm it, they can't threaten to break us up as partners." Deeks explained. "We're going to tell them after two months, that way we've already proven it doesn't effect our working relationship."

"Well, that _was_ the plan, but they're going to find out a little earlier, now." Kensi said as they made their way to the table to eat dinner.

"Why?" Deeks asked.

Kensi gave him her signature '_You're an idiot' _look. "Because I think Hetty and Callen might notice when we update our files at the same time with the same address."

"Oh, yeah, that." Deeks said as he dug into his pizza.

"You are moving in together?" Faith asked around mouthfuls of pizza.

"Well, we figured you'd stay with me when this is all over, and I only have one room here. Kensi suggested us all moving to her place, but she only has two bedrooms and it just made more sense to buy a house." Deeks explained.

He watched as Faith processed it all. "Are you sure you want me to live with you?" She asked, seeming vulnerable and much younger than seventeen.

"There's no doubt in either of our minds that you belong anywhere else than with us." Kensi answered, squeezing Deeks' hand on top of the table.

"Alright, but do I get to bring my things with me?" Faith questioned.

"As soon as we are able to, we will go and get all of your stuff." Deeks replied as he started clearing the table.

After dinner, the three of them were ready for bed. Deeks pulled a twin sized air mattress out of his closet and placed it on the floor in his bedroom for Faith to sleep on. There was no way he was having her sleep in the living room by herself tonight.

Kensi and Deeks changed into some of his sweats and old, soft shirts and climbed into bed while Faith got comfortable on the air mattress.

Tomorrow was the start of the rest of their lives.


End file.
